Thursday, September 30, 2010

“Hooverdam is a cousin to Lou Reed's storming 1988 LP, New York. A very coherent album with a timeless quality” – Record Collector.

Former Stranglers Frontman Hugh Cornwell hits the road this October for a series of US and Canadian dates. The show features two sets - the first will feature a collection of Stranglers hits and classic solo material, with the second featuring The Stranglers seminal debut album Rattus Norvegicus IV being performed in its entirety for the first time in North America. The three piece band on this tour features Hugh Cornwell on guitar/vocals, Fish on bass/vocals and Clem Burke from Blondie on drums.

The show at Mercury Lounge starts at 6:30PM and tickets are $15. "This is a 2 part show – part 1 is The Stranglers Greatest Hits mixed with Hugh Cornwell’s solo material and after intermission part 2 is The STRANGLERS’ classic album Rattus Norvegicus IV, performed in its entirety." - from the Mercury Lounge website

Cornwell is the original guitarist, singer and main songwriter in The Stranglers enjoyed massive UK and European success with ten hit albums and twenty-one top forty singles, etching himself into the UK's musical psyche with songs such as 'Peaches', 'No More Heroes', 'Golden Brown', 'Always the Sun', 'Grip', 'Nice N Sleazy', 'Duchess' and 'No Mercy', all of which will be performed on this tour. One of the biggest hits, 'Golden Brown', saw renewed popularity when it was featured in Guy Ritchie's 2000 blockbuster, Snatch, and the song will once again hit audiences when it is featured on ABC's "Dancing With The Stars" this month.

Cornwell has released eight solo albums, most recently the acclaimed Hooverdam, produced and mixed in ToeRag Studios by Liam Watson, (known for the Grammy winning White Stripes’ album Elephant). Hooverdam is available as a high-quality free download in twelve languages from Hugh's website. The release is also available (through Hugh's webstore) as a triple-sleeved digipak, featuring both the CD and a live studio performance DVD in one exclusive package, as well as being available on vinyl.

New Songs for King Kong, a limited edition live double CD and vinyl album, recorded on the last UK tour, features both Hooverdam and Rattus Norvegicus IV in their entirety and is also available exclusively from Hugh's website and will be available to buy at the shows each night.

I am one of the die-hard GO4 fans who made a pledge earlier this year via PledgeMusic to help fund GO4's forthcoming disc Content. Not having the funds to afford a helicopter ride home to London from Glastonbury (£950), I opted for the "Ultimate Content Can" (£45). This can contains "the new album on CD, a book version, on paper, of an art piece that Jon and Andy have done on ceramic tiles depicting the last 40 years of world history, a book of lyrics, a book of drawings of our emotions, phials of our blood and a scratch and sniff book."

The "Content Can" has yet to ship and, due to the delayed street date for the album, is likely to be delayed until late in the year. Personally, I don't mind the delay but I'm anxious to get a sense of the album. The first new single from the reunited band, "Second Life", was released in 2008 and was written prior to Dave Allen and Hugo Burham's departure. This track has the classic GO4 sound without sounding like a re-tread of their past work. There is a snippet of another new song on PlegeMusic, "Do As I Say", which also follows the same sort of angular, staccato rhythms. On the other hand, "Never Pay for the Farm" (track streaming above), didn't move me as much as I would have liked.

It will be interesting to study the lineage of each of the songs on Content.

Over the last couple of years we have made a record of 11 new songs called ‘ content .‘ By now we thought it would be released, but it hasn’t panned out as we expected. What was to be an autumn release has turned into a New Year release.

We have tried to self fund this record from our gigs and money raised from our supporters on the Pledge site. We are really sorry about the delay.

This is why it’s delayed:

First, we had to find licensing deals for Europe and North America to get the music out online and physically. This has taken a lot of time to do as we wanted the right partner, an outfit that loved the album and got why we did it. We’re really pleased that we’ve now signed a deal with Europe’s leading independent, Gronland, and expect to close a deal in the US and Canada in the next couple of weeks. Now that we are in September, neither of these companies want to release the album before Christmas, and they both want the release to be simultaneous. So the album will now be released January 2011, tied to Gang of Four tours in Australia, the US and Europe.

The second thing that’s delayed the release has been the production of the metal boxed set. All who know Gang of Four know that the relationship between the music and the artwork surrounding it is crucial. This special edition will include a book of smells relating to human activities like work and sex, a book of the band's emotions [ rotoscoped photographs ], and a book of drawings and montages which illustrate our take on the last 40 years of world history. There is also a book of lyrics and a book containing our blood. And finally, a CD of music. The specialist production processes needed to make this happen are a bit left-field and it’s been a challenge to finish it up. But it’s almost done now, if late.

We know you must be as frustrated by the wait as we are. We’re going to make it good. We’ll keep our word and will deliver what we promised, although we missed our pre-Xmas release slot. So, we’ll send everyone who signed up for the album from our Pledge site a free re-mixed track before it is available anywhere else as a symbol of our gratitude and appreciation. This will be on it’s way to you very soon.

We’re working hard on this and hope you can forgive the delay and hang in with us. We’re almost there. It will be a fine thing.

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

After making their N. American debut earlier this month at a show at Bowery Electric, Singapore grindcore band Wormrot are playing a short run of tour dates across the Mid-Atlantic over the next week.

The band has been blogging about their first N. American tour for Invisible Oranges and a snippet from their tour diary is below.

"Things have been a bit rough lately. The drive from Denver to Albuquerque, New Mexico was around 8 – 9 hours. Upon reaching there, we had some burritos for a late lunch. It was a nice change of appetite coz we’ve been having pizzas almost everyday. Don’t get me wrong, pizzas are good, but everyday you kind of feel quite sick of it. Hehe… Anyway, the gig wasn’t as massive as the one in Denver. Turnout wasn’t as big as the place, but it was OK, I guess. The good thing is, some of the band members from Noisear came down for the gig. Was great to meet them. One of them played in a side band called The Laughing Dog. Man, they really kill!! Brutal band!!! It was an honor to meet some of the boys from Noisear and share the stage with The Laughing Dog. And guess what we had for dinner… Pizzas.

The next morning, we left the place at around 8:30am. Had our usual snappy Starbucks coffee with breakfast from Arby’s and head off to Oklahoma City for a gig at The Conservatory. Another long ass drive! What was supposed to be a 10 hours drive became 12 hours due to some complications on the highway in Amarillo, Texas. For the 1st time in our lives, we experienced real flood!!! The flood was so bad that some cars were covered in water. That totally sucks big time, man! We were damn lucky not to get stuck in the flood coz all the Wormrot boys can’t swim, for goodness sake!! Traffic was slow coz they had to block some parts of the road. And so we arrived late while the 1st band was playing. No bullshit, just load in and fucking play! Another small turnout for us considering the size of the place. LOL… But it was a fun gig. Sound system was good and the crowd was crazy, too. There was no place for us to sleep that night. so Mike h ad to drive to a hotel so that we can all have our beauty sleep. Oh yeah, the promoter did get us some food though. Pizzas."

Armagedda played raw, churning black metal that rises and falls beneath hoarse, snarled vocals. Moderate tempos and five+ minute songs let the grimness and atmosphere of the music build and these four tracks run for 24 minutes. Lo-fi production adds to the overall darkness of the album but there are hints of melodies within these songs (but no trace of light). The four tracks on “I Am” were recorded circa 2002 and the title track was previously performed during the Marching Towards Christian Extermination tour in 2002.

Vocalist / guitarist Graav and guitarist / bassist A called a halt to Armgedda in 2004 after the release of their third LP Ond Spiritism: Diaefvulens Skalder and the band members eventually resurfaced in the folk-metal band Lönndom.

Monday, September 27, 2010

Jimmy Eat World's sixth studio album, Invented, is available in stores and digitally today. The album marks the reunion of the band and producer Mark Trombino who served as producer on the band's two biggest selling albums Clarity and Bleed American. The deluxe version of the album (with four additional tracks) is currently the #4 best seller on iTunes.

First single "My Best Theory" has quickly stormed up the Modern Rock charts and now is the #3 song. New York Magazine wrote: "The pounding single ["My Best Theory"] from Jimmy Eat World's forthcoming album, Invented, reminds us that emo used to actually rock, not whine." The band recently performed a blistering rendition of the song on Late Show with David Letterman this past Friday, September 24. The heavily science fiction influenced video for "My Best Theory" made its debut last Friday.

The band started a tour across the U.S. on September 21 and has been playing to packed houses. The Washington Post wrote about a stop in DC that "they sounded as fiery as ever, like classic rock power ballads ramped up to the speed of punk."

Jimmy Eat World plays Terminal 5 on October 13th and 14th and We Were Promised Jetpacks (Fatcat) is providing support each night. The show on the 14th is sold out but tickets are still available for the show on the 13th. Tickets are $32 in advance and $37 DOS.

Michael Franti & Spearhead released their seventh disc, The Sound of Sunshine, last week and the title track has now become the band's first #1 single.

This new disc was conceived after Franti was hospitalized for a ruptured appendix in August 2009. “Music is sunshine. It gives us new energy and a stronger sense of purpose. You can’t hold it in your hands, smell it, taste it or even see it, yet somehow just coming together and feeling these little vibrations that tickle our eardrums can somehow lift us all up out of our most difficult moments in life to unimaginable heights,” says Franti. The band began recording in Jamaica with legendary producers Sly and Robbie (Bob Dylan, Carlos Santana, No Doubt) as well as in Franti’s home in Bali and hometown of San Francisco. With the record still not complete, Franti decided to bring a mobile studio on the road with him while he toured with John Mayer this past winter. The album was finished in dressing rooms and hotel rooms along the way with Franti playing songs he had recorded earlier in the day to the audience that evening.

As part of the run-up to the current tour, which kicked off last week in Los Angeles, Michael and the band have been making live promo appearance, which included a stop at Yahoo!'s Maximum Performance for an interview and to perform three songs, "The Sound Of Sunshine," "Hey Hey Hey," and "I'll Be Waiting."

Below is a video of the band performing "The Sound of Sunshine" on the Ellen DeGeneres Show.

Tickets for the show at Terminal 5 are $35 in advance and $40 (DOS) and British singer/songwriter Bobby Long opens the show.

This show is part of an eight-city “Barefoot Concert Series” which is Franti teaming up with the charity Soles4Souls to sponsor 100,000 pairs of shoes to raise awareness of the need for footwear both nationally and internationally. The “Barefoot Concert Series” will allow fans to donate/sponsor shoes and learn more about the Soles4Souls initiative. Fans will be able to donate funds via text message by texting keyword “FRANTI” to 20222 or via www.michaelfranti.com and www.soles4souls.org. Local distributions, as well as additional promotions (including impromptu “busking” performances by Franti), will be held in select cities throughout the tour.

For every dollar that is raised, Soles4Souls will donate a pair of shoes to someone in need through the charity’s “$1 equals 1 pair” program. The partnership is especially significant for 2010, as it marks anniversaries for both Soles4Souls (the distribution of its 10 millionth pair of shoes) and for Franti, who decided to go shoeless 10 years ago after traveling the globe and seeing the poverty and lack of shoes worldwide.

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Andy Shauf just finished a month-long US tour with Lauris Vidal and I caught the tour at the free pass-the-hat show at Roots Cafe in Brooklyn. Given the subtlety intimacy of Andy's songs, I was pleasantly surprised to witness how well the songs came across in a live setting. Roots Cafe is fairly small in size so Andy's songs and direct conversations with the audience made the show feel more like a house party with a group of friends than a 'traditional' concert.

Here are the last two songs from Andy's set:

Andy's new EP, "Waiting for the Sun to Leave", is out this Tuesday, Sept. 28th and the disc contains studio recording of songs that have been a part of Andy's live set for the last few years. "It’s 8 songs that are sort of old. Newer than Darker Days, but older than… brand new." (from Andy's blog)

Between all of the Squeeze breakups and reformations, guitarist/vocalist Chris Difford always seemed to be the low-key member of the band. After bowing out of Squeeze's 1999 US tour, Chris Difford kept a low profile (in US) until Squeeze reunited in 2007.

Chris released his forth solo disc, Cashmere If You Can, earlier this year and this show at Mercury Lounge is his only solo show in the US this year. While I have yet to hear Chris' new disc, Daily Mail described it as "up to the standard of the pithy gems he once penned in Squeeze". The show is described as a solo multi-media show (no clue what this really means) and tickets are $22 in advance and $25 (DOS).

Squeeze just finished a run of US shows touring behind their first new album in twelve years, Spot The Difference. In an effort to regain control of their back catalogue, Glenn Tilbrook and Chris Difford have re-recorded fourteen tracks from Squeeze's past with the current touring lineup of the band (which includes Argy Bargy / East Side Story bassist John Bentley). These are near faithful reproductions of the original studio versions (hence the title of this new CD) and Paul Carrack is pulled back in the fold to take lead vocals on "Tempted". The only "significant" change is that Glenn Tilbrook sings lead in place of Carrack on "Loving You Tonight" (from Some Fantastic Place).

There isn't a whole lot to say about this disc as it is essentially an updated version of the early 80's compilation 45's and Under (and includes 10 of that disc's 12 songs). This disc is the perfect introduction to Squeeze but the near-perfect reproductions offer little value to the long-time fan who already has all of these tracks.

While this "compilation" captures Squeeze at their best, my continual disappointment is that the band has yet to capture the energy of their 80's (or even current) live shows on disc. Long-time fans who already have these tracks should hunt down the vinyl bootleg Anatomy of a Burger (recorded in NYC on the East Side Story tour) as that is the perfect live companion to the Spot the Difference tracks.

Friday, September 24, 2010

Brooklyn-based cellist Daniel Cho passed away earlier this summer, a day before he was to play with Regina Spektor at the Montreux Jazz Festival. In addition to hiw work with Spektor, Cho also arranged and played with Katy Perry, John Mayer, Mandy Moore, Rachael Yamagata and Coldplay. He was also a correspondent for ESPN Soccernet, where he covered South Korea's national team.

Regina Spektor, Jesse Owen Youngs, Tracy Bonham, Jupiter One, Cooper (Cho's rock band) and many others are coming together this Monday at Music Hall of Williamsburg to play a tribute show to Daniel and help raise money for his family. The show starts at 8PM and tickets are $35.

Joe Pepitone (born and raised Brooklynite) is having a CD launch party for his band Dead Till Tuesday's new record What's That Sound?, at Public Assembly on Wednesday, October 6th. The new disc was produced by Mark Saunders (who has worked with such notables as The Cure, Depeche Mode, Erasure, Shiny Toy Guns). The self-released new record, What's That Sound?, will also be available to the general public on October 6th, 2010.

The show will feature special guest performances by Kai Altair and glam rock specialist DJ Joey Nova. Kai will perform songs from her new album Star of the Sea and also accompany Dead Till Tuesday later on in the night, lending her voice to some of the songs that she helped co-write.

Doors are at 7:30PM and there will be a free open PBR bar from 8 - 9PM. Cover is $5 and all proceeds from the door will be going directly to RightRides For Women's Safety.

Dead Till Tuesday recently took first place in the 2010 City Meals on Wheels Battle of the Bands, helping to raise $267,000 for the charity. Their song "Kiss Me" recently won the Peace Love Productions song contest at Broadjam.com.

Thursday, September 23, 2010

(photo by Norman Wong)Indie rock band Stars (who share members with Broken Social Scene) released their fifth disc, The Five Ghosts, earlier this summer. After appearances at several major Canadian music festivals this summer, as well as Chicago's Lollapalooza, the band kicked off a Fall tour yesterday in Rochester. The tour stops at Terminal 5 tomorrow night and Stars are playing with Wild Nothing.

To win a pair of tickets to tomorrow night's show at Terminal 5, e-mail Mike.Brooklynrocks@Gmail.Com (subject: Stars @ Terminal 5). Be sure to include your first and last name in the emai! Winners will be drawn at randow and contacted. Good luck!

Love and death have always been the twin engines of the popular song: the pursuit of love and the mourning of its passing; the havoc death wreaks upon love; love’s survival in the aftermath of death; death as metaphor for the loss of one’s identity to the consumptive power of love...

Few bands of recent times have understood this as completely as Stars. And fewer bands still have so eloquently articulated, in words and in melodies, the seemingly countless ways love and death fill our days and rule our lives. Ten years after singer-lyricist Torquil Campbell and keyboardist Chris Seligman conceived of Stars in a decrepit New York apartment, one can listen back through the band’s discography and hear dozens of songs that find new ways to contemplate these ancient, ageless subjects.

To that end, The Five Ghosts, Stars’ fifth full-length album, would seem to be business as usual. Indeed, a scan of its song titles — “Dead Hearts,” “I Died So I Could Haunt You,” “The Last Song Ever Written” — would suggest as much. And yes, the band whose previous album, 2007’s In Our Bedroom After the War, imagined romance in the shadow of the threat of apocalypse, are as fascinated as ever by the potential of the ruinous love song.

But The Five Ghosts is different from previous Stars albums. Simpler, sparer, and more confident (in its own quiet way), it also trades some of the band’s previous dramatic flourish for the sort of direct, heart-bearing communication that comes from hard-won experience.

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Canadian metal band Annihilator is the lifework of guitarist Jeff Waters. Founded in 1984, the band took the metal scene by storm with their debut 1989 release “Alice In Hell”, upped the ante with 1990’s “Never, Neverland” and finished off their 3-record deal (Roadrunner Records) with “Set The World On Fire”. While most late-80’s era metal bands disappeared, Annihilator went on to forge 9 more studio cds, dvds and live releases, all consistently selling well and remaining true to the heavy metal cause.

Tours with everyone from Judas Priest to Pantera to Trivium plus dozens of headlining tours, festivals around the world have been going on since 1989 for this band; no rest for the wicked. In 2003, Dave Padden joined the band as vocalist and eventually took on the role of guitar player as well, a la Hetfield. Dave has sang on the last 4 studio releases and has now etched his name in stone as a top front man in the biz.

Earache Records is releasing six classic albums from Annihilator's back-catalogue as part of the "Total Annihilation" campaign, and to celebrate, the label is offering a free download-only compilation album featuring fourteen killer tracks.

01. The Trend02. Ambush03. Battered04. Carnival Diablos05. Back To The Palace06. Nothing Left07. Ultra-Motion08. Ritual09. King Of The Kill10. Second To None11. Ultraparanoia12. Refresh The Demon13. Tricks And Traps14. Never Forget

The first three releases from the "Total Annihilation" reissue campaign, CARNIVAL DIABLOS, CRITERIA FOR A BLACK WIDOW and WAKING THE FURY, are available now in Europe, along with Annihilator's new, self-titled album. Get them now at Earache's European web store.

Annihilator have just added two dates in Greece to their upcoming European headlining tour and here are the current tour dates:

Last week, I had the opportunity to talk with Suicidal Tendencies / No Mercy guitarist Mike Clark.

This is a busy time for the band as they just released their first new disc in ten years, No Mercy Fool! / The Suicidal Family and are kicking off a coast-to-coast tour that starts next month. I talked with Mike about the new disc, which consists of re-recordings of Join the Army and No Mercy (Muir and Clark's thrash metal project) tunes along with the hard to find track "Come Alive" (from the 2008 Year of the Cycos tour CD). Mike shared that the band's long awaited new studio album is finally finished and due out in January of next year. Suicidal Tendencies will be previewing tracks from this forthcoming album on the current tour.

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

UK thrash metal band Evile are eagerly anticipating their next major North American tour which starts next week in Tulsa, OK. To pass the time (and to make sure that fans air guitar correctly at all of the shows), guitarist, Ol Drake has made an instructional video that teaches viewers how to play the Infected Nations track, "Time No More." Ol teaches the song riff-by-riff at varying speeds to give fans a truly in-depth experience with learning the material.

Evile vocalist and guitarist Matt Drake recently commented on the band's impending North American tour:

"For the second time this year, Evile are proud to be able to say we're coming across the pond to play some more shows throughout America and Canada. Last time we were there for two months, this time we're staying for three, playing at loads of places we never went to last time, but also revisiting many places we played at with the mighty Overkill and Kreator earlier in the year. We just can't get enough of it!

This time we're joining up with Overkill, Forbidden, Early Man, Gama Bomb and Bonded By Blood for many different tours, also some headline shows of our own, so if you saw us play last time, make sure you come and see us again and bring everyone you know for some metal madness!"

Evile's 2009 album, Infected Nations, is due to be re-released on October 12th as a limited edition redux version. This special version of the album includes a bonus disc with fifteen extra tracks, including the band's popular cover of Pantera's "Cemetery Gates", as well as eight songs recorded live in the studio with new bassist Joel Graham and six songs recorded live at Hammerfest in 2009. Earache Records is currently taking pre-orders through their web store.

Formed from the ashes of the original line-up of White Wizzard, Los Angeles traditional metal band Holy Grail have been generating a buzz after last year’s release of their debut EP “Improper Burial”. The band has been confirmed as direct support for Blind Guardian's fall North American At The Edge of Time tour, which kicks off on November 19th in Philadelphia, PA at the Trocadero. The tour stops at the Best Buy (aka Nokia) Theater on the 20th. Seven Kingdoms is also on the bill for the NYC show and tickets are $30 (in advance and $33 DOS).

Holy Grail frontman James Paul Luna commented, "The Holy Grail guys and I are really pumped to go out with Blind Guardian. Their new album is amazing and our new album, Crises in Utopia, will drop right before the tour begins. Blind Guardian and Holy Grail will be a killer bill!"

Crises in Utopia, Holy Grail's debut full-length album will be released on October 26th via Prosthetic Records. The new disc is produced by acclaimed producer/remixer/musician Danny Lohner (Nine Inch Nails, A Perfect Circle) and features cover artwork by Andrei Bouzikov (Skeletonwitch, Municipal Waste). Prosthetic Records is currently taking pre-orders for Crises in Utopia.

German pagan metal band Adorned Brood has been around since 1994 but I hadn’t heard the band until the release of their current album Noor. This is the band’s sixth full-length and it is out on Black Bards Enterainment label.

I’m not that familiar with many of the bands in the pagan/folk genre so I really don’t have the background to make any comparisons about Adorned Blood’s sound. A few years back, a buddy took me to a pagan metal show at Highline Ballroom and, honestly, most of the bands didn’t leave any sort of lasting memory. I’ve given Noor a few plays and really enjoyed the dichotomy between with folk and the metal-core aspects of the disc.

Adorned Brood uses traditional folk instruments like the tin whistle, flute, accordion and string to complement their crunchy power chords and blast beats. The band has six members, including female co-vocalist Anne, so there is a lot of interplay between the vocals and instrumentation within each of the disc’s ten songs. The songs range in style from the moody (almost horror movie soundtrack) “Intro” to the hard-driving, pounding drinking anthem “Noor” which combines screamo, snarled vocals with clean choruses and melodic chanting. One of the other stand-out tracks is “Sons of the Damned” which is stylistically similar to “Noor” but it includes more of the traditional folk instruments along with an instrumental piano break. There are a number of other breaks in the songs which include elements of power metal and prog rock, all of which kept me actively engaged as a listener. The disc wraps up on a strong note with the foot-stomping (mosh-pit inducing) “Drunken Sailor”.

While the majority of the vocals are sung in German, I don’t think this is an impediment to enjoying this disc. Most of the songs sound like battle anthems which transcend all language barriers. Noor makes it obvious that that Adorned Brood would be a lot of fun to see live in concert.

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Nashville garage rock band Bad Cop released their debut CD Harvest the Beast (ROIR) earlier this week and the band is currently in the middle of a Sept. - Oct. tour. The tour stops at Don Pedros in Brooklyn on Sept. 25th and the band comes back through on Oct. 25th for The Deli Magazine CMJ Showcase at Spike Hill.

Bad Cop plays balls-out rock and they blast through ten tracks of exuberant fuzzed-out, psychedelic garage punk in just shy of thirty minutes on their debut disc. The short running time of the disc isn't a negative as it leaves no room for filler and each of the songs is bursting at the edges. The band's page on ROIR says "Bad Cop comes at you like a drunken frat boy who won’t take no for an answer". Between vocalist Adam Anyone's snarling, spat out lyrics, guitarist Alex Hartness' guitar lines which range from fuzzed-out reverb to soaring clean leads and Kharl Merley's pounding drums, Harvest the Beast has the raw, sonic intensity of the early Stooges discs. This isn't the sort of disc that you put on as background music as the music sucks you in and demands your attention.

First Aid Kit's new video for "Ghost Town," off the duo's debut full-length album The Big Black & The Blue (Wichita), premiered earlier this week on Spin.com. Encapsulating the haunting beauty of the song, the Mats Udd-directed video was filmed earlier this summer in Stockholm, nearby their hometown of Enskede, Sweden.

"We filmed it during a beautiful summer's day at a wheat field and a meadow in Stockholm. Mats Udd and his crew did a fantastic job and really captured the spirit of the song. It's inspired by Picnic At Hanging Rock, among other things," explains First Aid Kit's Klara and Johanna Söderberg. "The shooting was a lot of fun, but we got over 100 mosquito bites each (!!). However, it's all for the art, right?"

A "Ghost Town" single will be released digitally September 28th via Wichita and will include a cover of Fever Ray's "When I Grow Up" as a b-side. The cover is a tribute to First Aid Kit's mentor Karin Dreijer Andersson, of Fever Ray and The Knife, who released the young Swedish sisters' debut EP "Drunken Trees" in 2008 on her label, Rabid. The "Ghost Town" single will also be available as a 7" via the Wichita web store and at First Aid Kit's shows.

Later this month, First Aid Kit will begin their second North American headlining tour on September 30th at The Vera Project in Seattle, WA. Ferraby Lionheart will be opening on all dates of the tour and The Sea Of Cortez are also on the bill for the first three shows. The tour now wraps up with a recently announced New York show on October 21st at The Delancey as part of the Saddle Creek/Wichita showcase during the CMJ Music Marathon.

With the rise of Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, I assumed that Alex Ebert's previous project Ima Robot was dead. Pleasantly surprised to be wrong, Ima Robot's third disc, Another Man's Treasure, comes out October 19th on guitarist Tim Anderson's Werewolf Heart Records.

“Here we are again- or, more accurately, here we aim to be. What we offer here is a collection of songs from the end of an era. Most were recorded between 2 and 4 years ago, a time when none of us were sure what our band was, a time of transition. We feel they make an album- and, perhaps, the proper eulogy and remembrance of a band that was- and the twinkling of a band to come.” –Ima Robot frontman Alex Ebert

Check out "Skate & Create" video below which was directed by Spike Jonze and features two Ima Robot songs from their forthcoming CD.

There is a humility and honesty to Another Man’s Treasure that reflects a bond that only time and experience can create. Be it the background chatter making the cut or the handmade percussion that powers many of the songs, you will hear creative intimacy of the most comfortable sort. Yet, warmth aside, this is no light fare! When the devastating "Rough Night" morphs from an electronic dirge into aggressive noise and then dead ends as a ticking clock, it is as jolting as anything you will hear this year. Still, amidst the sometimes bleak surface, there are slivers of light; the swirling swish of "Sail With Me”, the hopeful plea of "Shine Shine" and the album's final words: "love will lead us home."

IMAR took to the California desert to shoot the album art with photographer Hama Sanders in early May. They transported souvenirs from IMAR’s past such as instruments and old merch, fusing them with personal items: family photos, letters and such. They arranged them on the desert floor as a survey of their collected past, cloaked by a bright blue sky. Ironically, on that trip whilst scouting for photo locations, the band came across various small towns virtually devastated by the financial crisis. Following a dirt road that seeming led to the middle of nowhere, they came upon what appeared to be an entire family’s abandoned belongings. Report cards, a television and even a boat. It was poignant to realize these were likely prized possessions, treasures even at some point, and with that realization the album titled itself: Another Man’s Treasure.

Saturday, September 18, 2010

The event is at Brooklyn Bowl (61 Wythe Avenue) and is all-ages until 6PM.

From 12PM - 5PM, the promoters will be giving away 160 Cannondale bikes to Blue Ribbon employees for the NYC MS Ride, as well as raffling off bikes to the public, doing free helmet fittings, tire changing workshops and generally having a family-friendly good time.

The bike distribution will be followed by a fundraiser party at Brooklyn Bowl from 7-11 PM called Local x Local, which features the best in local food, beer, and music. Special features will include free chips and salsa from Brooklyn Salsa, and a performance by rising star Maluca.

Maluca, who joins the ranks of M.I.A. and Santigold on Diplo’s record label Mad Decent, brings the heat with “tropical punk” ghettotech and a fierce latin flare.

Brooklyn's bike community will be coming out in force to raise awareness for the MS Ride and celebrate. Donations can be made inside the Bowl, but the whole event is free and open to the public.

The Charlatans were mid-way through their first US tour since 2006's Simpatico when drummer, Jon Brookes, collapsed on stage during the band's show at Philadelphia’s Johnny Brenda’s.

Early into the set Brookes suddenly collapsed and stopped breathing. Fortunately there was a doctor in the audience who administered first aid and got the drummer breathing again before the paramedics arrived minutes later. Brookes was taken to St. Joseph’s Hospital in Philadelphia and during the night was given a CAT scan and has been responding well to treatment. He has now been transferred to a larger hospital in the city for further tests, although his condition is said to be improving and doctors believe there will be no long term effects on his health.

The band has now formally announced that the remaining tour dates have been postponed.

The Charlatans were touring behind their eleventh disc, Who We Touch, which came out last Tuesday via The End Records. The album was produced by Youth (Killing Joke, Primal Scream, Paul McCartney). On the day that the record was released, the band was in NYC and they played an in-store set at Best Buy in Union Square (video below) and a headlining set at Music Hall of Williamsburg.

Chicago's Oh My God kicked off their fall tour last Wednesday with a headlining at Pianos. The band's latest disc, The Night Undoes the Work of the Day, was released last year but the disc started taking on a second life with the recent release of videos for "My Own Adventure" and "Bring Yourself" (both from last year's CD).

I had the chance to talk with Oh My God before the show (if you see them on tour, don't ask about the "Jesus Juice") and the video ends with a live performance of "Bring Yourself".

The official video for "Bring Yourself" was directed by Adult Swim's Dan Bigelow.

Friday, September 17, 2010

Nashville-based film composer / Roman Candle guitarist Keegan DeWitt released his latest EP, Nothing Shows, on July 13th via Daytrotter's Record Barn. After a successful run of tour dates, Keegan has just released a free 5-track EP of remixes of "Say La La" (from Nothing Shows). These remixes were done by Jensen Sportag, Wild Cub (DeWitt's DJ moniker and the name under which he releases a free monthly mixtape), Unkle Skeleton, Youth Club, and Sun Ray Estate.

Below is a video from last year's Lake Fever Sessions which has Keegan singing with Madi Diaz, who also sang on the EP's "Michel Bizot".

I was at Pianos last week to see Oh My God and arrived early enough to catch Readymade Breakup's set. I wasn't at all familiar with the band prior to seeing them play but will definitely make an effort to see them again. The band's sound ranges from Plimsouls/Don't Tell A Soul-era Replacements guitar-driven power-punk to Paul McCartney & Wings style harmonic pop.

The band's (currently untitled) third full-length is due out later this year and an unmastered advance track from the disc, "Inside All Along", made its debut this summer on Music Savage. This forthcoming disc, produced by Steve Evetts (The Cure, Saves The Day, Dillinger Escape Plan), is described as the group's most ambitious work to date.

Monday, September 13, 2010

Iron Maiden released their fifteenth studio album last month and...it sounds like an Iron Maiden album. Continuing on in the same epic, prog-rock vein as the other post-reunion albums, Final Frontier is Iron Maiden's longest album to-date (77 minutes) and most of the disc's ten tracks are in excess of seven minutes.

As reflected in the disc's cover art, many of the songs utilize science fiction themes to set the stage for stories of war, alienation and Armageddon. The album's first video (for the title track "Final Frontier") is almost something straight out of Star Wars and the song has a three+ minute industrial/tribal sounding lead-in (entitled "Satellite 15") that kicks off this disc.

The first half of this disc contains some of the more memorable songs which range from the triple guitar attack of "The Alchemist" to the galloping bass lines powering "El Dorado" and the stripped-down, reflective "Mother of Mercy" which highlight Dickenson's stellar vocals. The back-half of the disc contains the longer epic songs and the one notable song is the understated "When the Wild Wind Blows". This eleven minute Armageddon - themed epic starts with the sound of the blowing wind and builds to a crescendo around crashing guitars and Nicko McBrain's powerful drumming.

While many long-running bands have embarrassed themselves as they enter the third and fourth decade of their career (I'm specifically think of The Who and Rolling Stones and the numerous bands who continually tour without having released any new material in over a decade), Final Frontier is a solid addition to the Maiden catalogue. While I personally prefer the early Maiden albums, Final Frontier is a natural evolution of the band's sound and this disc clearly shows that the band will be relevant for years to come.

Beyond the immersive physical theater, beyond the site-specific improv and pageantry NBP sound as much post-punk as post-prog, as much pastiche as parody, they are a guided tour through a minefield of ambitious, dynamic melodies and assorted guilty pleasures. Not since the Horrors pillaged krautrock and post-punk has a band’s Vinyl collection been a subject of such insatiable scrutiny.

Not Blood, Paint are currently finishing a Midwest tour and the band's next local show is at a free CMJ showcase at Spike Hill on October 22nd.

This release has been out since last year but I finally got around to picking up a copy. I've bought more than enough dodgy Stooges releases over the last twenty year so I was hesitant to pick up yet another one. Now that I've spent some time with this set, the key question that I'll try to answer with this review is whether both the casual Stooges fan and the Stooges/Iggy collector would find value in this 4-disc collection.

You have to wonder what The Stooges were thinking (which may be an oxymoron) - roughly a year after the release of Funhouse, The Stooges went out on the road playing a set composed entirely of unreleased songs. Additionally, this lineup - which featured both Ron Asheton and James Williamson on guitar and Jimmy Recca on bass - only held together through this tour. Given this, most Stooges collectors are likely to already have this set. The sticking point for me was the unknown sound quality. Easy Action's site states in large type "These recordings are Audience recordings!". Having had a completely unlistenable recording of the show at The Factory (aka Kiel Auditorium) for years along with the average sounding Wampler Lake show, I was suspicious.

After giving this set a few spins, the bottom-line is that the sound quality is decent - not stellar, but decent all the same. The bar that I've set for audience recordings is whether the sound quality is something that you can play at a party and let the background noise and chatter "blur" any of the recording's minor imperfections. None of the four shows on this set hit this bar - all of the recordings require a somewhat quiet environment and active listening to appreciate the power of this lineup.

The set list is pretty much the same across all four shows:- "I Got A Right",- "You Don't Want My Name",- "Fresh Rag",- "Dead Body / Who Do You Love",- "Big Time Bum" and- "Do You Want My Love".

The first night (May 14, 1971) at the The Electric Factory also includes Iggy singing solo "The Shadow Of Your Smile" and the full band performance of "The Children of the Night".

Starting with Disc 1 and 2, both Electric Factory recording are guitar-heavy and this drowns out the bass, drums and most of Iggy's vocals. The intertwining lead guitars though give a good sense of the power of these songs. Moving on to Disc 3, the sound quality of The Factory show (the final live show with this lineup) is surprisingly good in comparison to the multi-generation unlistenable mess the was documented on Live '71. The bottom end of the range is missing but Iggy's vocals are reasonably clear. The final disc contains the first show of the tour, recorded in Detroit in April '71. This recording starts out rather rough but clears up by the third song and ends up being close in quality to The Factory show. This disc is rounded out by a post-split contractual obligation show at Wampler's Lake (recorded on July 24, 1971) where the lineup included just Ron, Scott, Jimmy with a vocalist recruited from the audience.

The sound quality of this set is going to scare away casual fans but collectors are going to want to have this set simply because there are no other decent recording of these songs or this lineup. While I'm unlikely to listen to this set often, it has a permanent home in my collection.

Friday, September 10, 2010

Shonen Knife's live DVD comes from the last night of the group's 2009 Super Group tour of North America. The band plays an exuberant 18-song // 60 minute set that spans their catalog, playing as many songs from Super Group as they do from Pretty Little Baka Guy.

While there have been some lineup changes over the past decade around core member Naoko (vocals/guitar), the band's brand of bouncy power-pop continues on unchanged. Amusingly, the band breaks from their traditional sound for the doomy "Muddy Bubbles Hell" (from Super Group) and Naoko introduces the song by talking about how the band was influenced by the NWOBHM bands of the 80's. Adding to the fun, original drummer/bassist Atsuko makes a cameo appearance and joins the band on "Fruits and Vegetables".

The band talks with the crowd frequently between songs and seems quite happy to be playing in front of this Buffalo crowd. This show is filmed with multiple camera and the editing does an excellent job of capturing both the enthusiasm of the band and the audience along with the Shonen Knife live experience. This is just pure fun and the show is all about celebrating the moment as opposed to trying to save the world .

Shonen Rock is heading out on a US tour next week in support of their latest CD Free Time (Good Charamel Records). The tour stops at the Knitting Factory on Sept. 28 and Shonen Knife is playing with Hard Nips and Grooms. Tickets are $12 and the show starts at 8PM.

Nuclear Family members Tone Tank (Iller Than Theirs) and Scott Thorough are releasing a seven-song collaboration CD at a record release party at Southpaw on Sept. 16th and all attendees will a hand-painted copy of the new disc.

Tone and Scott just released the first video from the new disc. “Chip On Your Shoulder” is off the new record, Scott & Tone which will be out September 10th on Modern Shark, featuring guest appearances from Serengeti, Kool A.D. of Das Racist, and Mercury The Maroon.

The record release jam is planned for Thursday, September 16th at Southpaw in Brooklyn. Along with Tone Tank & Scott Thorough, the night will feature performances from Junk Science, Serengeti, Safe, and Dillon, and DJ sets from Chances with Wolves.

Wednesday, September 08, 2010

BXI released their debut 4-track EP last month (on Southern Lord) and Tuesday night marked the band's first concert performance. While the band played just a twenty minute, their set left me feeling fairly satisfied as the power of the collaboration between Boris and Ian Astbury was clearly in evidence.

The band started with "Teeth and Claws" from the new EP which is the most "Cult-ish" song from the new disc but the song is tempered by Wata's textured guitar leads. Following the order of the new EP, the band next went into the punky "We Are Witches". Regretfully, the band skipped over their psychedelic, swirling reinterpretations of The Cult's "Rain" (which features Wata's wispy vocals) but rather went into a hazy cover of The Doors' "The End". This came off quite well and was a perfect lead-in to the thundering, mystical ballad "Magickal Child".

The evening's challenges started though a little ways into "Magickal Child" when the power blew. After a short period of time, with Ian Astbury making cracks about Greg Anderson's hair dryer and a heckler in the audience yelling for "LA Woman", the power came back and the band finished their last song.

When I interviewed the band before the show, Ian and Atsuo mentioned that they would like to continue this collaboration. I'm looking forward to hearing both a full-length and a full set sometime in the not-too-distant future.

The Workhorse III is a punk-rock power trio out of Philadelphia who released their self-titled debut CD earlier this summer. The band is fronted by long-time scene veteran guitarist/vocalist Lisa Lyne Flynn who had previously led the punk band LisaChristSuperstar (described in an older interview as playing "play gas guzzling action rock, 70's riff rockets sped to motorpunk velocity"). As The Workhorse III is rounded out by Brian "Blunker" Bloemke (x-Bad Luck 13 and LisaChristSupeerstar) and Eric Perfect (x-Limecell), it should come as no surprise that this new band plays loud, fast and scuzzy rock and roll.

The band crams twelve songs into just over thirty minutes and each of these songs are driven by Flynn's aggressive vocals and slashing guitar work. Musically, the tempos vary across this disc and range from sludgy My War style punk to Courtney Love/Babes in Toyland style alt-rock. While lyrics aren't included with this disc, it is hard to miss the bl*wjob ("Infect The Masses") and drug references ("War Machine" - which I think is a hold-over from LisaChristSuperstar days).

Cutting to the chase - this is balls-out rock and roll. The Workhorse III are touring around the Philadelphia area but the closest that they are coming to NYC is a gig in Asbury Park. Below are the upcoming tour dates:

Monday, September 06, 2010

BXI is the collaboration between Boris and Ian Astbury (The Cult) and Southern Lord just released the debut recordings by this group. This finely-crafted four-song release, simply entitled BXI, was tracked and mixed in Tokyo in late April. Astbury’s iconic vocals are a perfect match for Boris' raw and emotive songwriting style.

Tomorrow night, BXI is making its first full-length performance at Brooklyn Masonic Temple as part of show with Jesse Sykes, Sunn O))) and Boris. I had the opportunity to talk with Ian Astbury and Atsuo earlier today about tomorrow night's show, the new EP, the first BXI live performance (which took place in Sydney earlier this year) and more.